Lap bander seriously considering DS

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since I've been on OH.  I had my bad put in 12/2009  and did well losing about 70 pounds.  Unfortunately I suffer from a serious vascular/autoimmune disease and I flared and had to go on 80mg of prednisone and up my chemo.  Needless to say I gained some weight and have never ever been able to get my band to work for me again.  With the constant flux of inflammation from my disease I either throw up anything I eat since I'm so tight or the next day anything goes down.  It's been a real mental ****estorm for me.

I can usually lose 10 pounds but I work my arse off mentally and physically.  I feel like such a failure.  I'm still 300 pounds, newly dx with lupus on top of wegener's granulomatosis and I feel like the past 9 years of my life have gone by and I haven't lived.  Yes, I'm sick, but I hate having the added obesity to it.  I really feel the DS is my best option, but tell me how it would go with my band still in place (it's perfectly fine...no slips or anything).  

I could use some help with this as I'm just so depressed over this new Lupus diagnosis (and I tested positive for the phohpholipid antibody...ugh, I'm a mess).  Thank you so much in advance for your time.  

I guess I'm looking for info on surgery with band already in place, what to expect for a life of vitamins and maintenance, etc  

I had the lap band and now I have the DS. Knowing what I know now I would have done the DS and skipped the band altogether. I am glad you have had any problems with your band - I was like that until I got pregnant and then I had a lot of complications. I am not sure how you are able to eat but I had certain foods that never worked for me (most meat and lettuce were the worst for me). I ended up eating "slider" type foods that could actually go through. Now I can eat healthy - no problems with meat (well dry turkey isn't easy!) and I can eat veggies too. I do focus on vitamins now, which is a must, but with the variety of food I get plus my vitamins I know I am healthier than I was eating soup and yogurt all the time. I take a lot of vitamins but you get used to it quick. I have lost 75 lbs in just shy of 3 months and I am still going strong. Everyone's journey is different but I LOVE my DS. Good luck!!!!

Thanks, Lupita

Yep, I never know WHAT is going to go down, so sliders are often chosen.  I'd LOVE a chicken or turkey breast dinner but we know THAT'S not going to happen. Healthy protein is so hard to get down.  I may be able to eat a couple of bites and then voila! I get stuck.  But a few hours later I could be wide open.  It's so daunting.  How are your BMs with the DS?  I had my gallbladder removed and of course my stomach hates the bile dump so I finally got a medication that binds to the bile so I'm not living in the bathroom.  

Yes I love that I can eat so much better now. :)

As for BMs they are fine. I was pretty loose for about a month but once I started on my calcium they are pretty normal. With the band I was always constipated because I wasn't eating enough and definitely had a hard time with anything with fiber. It was horrible. Now I just go usually about 2X a day and it isn't a big deal at all. I haven't had my gallbladder removed though - so I am not the best for advice in that area. 

LupitaChin, 

Did you not say that you have the SADI, NOT the DS?  While there will be SOME similarities, what you had is not a DS and the rules and advice will be different.  I am glad you got the surgery that you wanted but I felt that I need to make it clear that the advice for your surgery will differ from a DS, and I wouldn't want to have anyone think that their DS will be the same. Just like the advice for an RNY is different, the advice for a SADI will be different. Perhaps you could make your surgery type clear in your signature line?

Actually my surgery is considered a DS and while you might like me to change what I have written it is unfortunately not your profile and therefore do not get to choose what I put on my profile.  So perhaps you can stop worrying about me and focus on yourself.

What exactly does 'considered a DS' mean? Is it an actual DS?

Lupida, if you have a single anastomosis, it's called a SADI, not a DS. The true DS had TWO anastomses (sp?) Just to be clear, for newbies.

LupitaChin:  You had the SADI, which is NOT the DS.  You calling your surgery the DS is not accurate.

To the Original Poster:  Please be aware that some surgeons will SAY they are doing the DS, but you will wake up with something like what LupitaChin has, which is NOT the DS.  It is important that you research your surgeon CAREFULLY and make sure that your SURGICAL CONSENT FORM states that only the DS will be performed, not the SADI (which is what LupitaChin got) or the RNY, or any other surgery. 

You also want your gallbladder removed at the time of the DS, possibly your appendix as well.  These are now done routinely alongside the DS, to avoid future surgeries. 

Oh sweetly. You don't know me and you don't know what surgery I had. Have fun on your crusade to save people. I do agree that people need to be informed about what is going to happen to their own body but I also think that others shouldn't pretend to know more about someone else's body than the actual person does. Maybe something you could do that might be helpful is to start a separate thread highlighting the many differences between the SADI and the DS with your vast medical knowledge. I would love to see how long you could make your list since you seem to be all knowing.